The Nigerian digital currency will be officially launched on October 1, 2021.
Nigeria’s digital currency project will benefit from collaboration with Bitt, the country’s Central Bank announced on Monday.
According to the press release, Barbados-based Bitt will provide technical assistance as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prepares to finalize the launch of the country’s digital currency, dubbed “eNaira”.
The CBN said in the statement that the decision to choose Bitt is due to the various strengths of the fintech company, including its “ technological competence, its effectiveness, [et] the security of its platform ».
The bank also took into account the Barbados-based company’s previous experience in a related project, which it helped launch in April this year.
The partnership with Bitt comes after the announcement of the launch of eNaira on October 1 of this year. It also comes after the banking regulator warned banks and other financial institutions against Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Commenting on the announcement, Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele highlighted eNaira’s ability to improve financial inclusion, lower-cost remittances and tax collection.
The launch of eNaira will take place in stages and the project will allow the digital currency to become legal tender. During the initial phase, the Central Bank will issue, distribute and facilitate the redemption of the digital currency.
In the next phase, registered financial institutions will receive the bank’s digital currency and oversee the issuance of stablecoins.
In the next step, the government seeks to launch transaction processing, which will continue with further integration between financial players, merchants and individual users. In the fifth stage, the eNaira will be part of the Retail Consumer Suite, which will allow customers to have a smoother experience.
